Public power is good deal

With all of the talk this time of year of municipal budget woes, higher taxes, increased fees and fewer people in the state to pay the costs of the services we want it is nice to know that public power has made the attempt to hold down costs and maintain services. Mr. Katebi's opinion piece last week was a fine example of what municipal electric companies are doing across the state to provide services of value to their customers. We are very fortunate to have a number of these Public Power Companies in the form of municipal electric light departments (munis) in our local area. Holden, Princeton, Paxton, Sterling and West Boylston are just a few of the towns that enjoy the benefits of lower cost electricity and high value services that these rate payer owned utilities provide.

Recently one of the largest Investor Owned Utilities in the state filed with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunication and Energy to reduce their customer's rates. Their filing stated that a standard rate customer using 500 kWh's per month would pay only $79.65, which would be a reduction from the previous rate. The news article reporting this proposed rate change said that the IOU's rate in their "unbundled bill" was 10.6 cents per kWh. If you do the math however, you will find that their out-of-pocket cost to the ratepayer is about 16 cents per kWh. This is roughly $20 more for the same amount of energy from your local municipal light department depending on the community in which you live.

I would say that public power through your local municipal light department is a good deal. In fact, it's a great deal that I hope you all recognize and support in these times of ever increasing costs for municipal services.